Bread-wrapping machine.



C. METTLER.

BREAD WRAPPING'MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. I2. 1909.

Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ifa/enfer? @wapa/r M2670 y C. METTLER.

BREAD WHAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 12.1909.

1,140,522e Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ag" l dwmmw.

v C. METTLER.

BREAD WRAPFING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 12.1909.

Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

C. METYLER.

BREAD WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men OCT. 12.1909.

Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

fm2/eww?? wsyew M062 C. METTLER.

BREAD WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 12.1909.

Mm Vf @M mw f mms. M i i@ M n@ 5 o n@ 4 pf C. METTLER.

Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

4 'Il' i f C. METTLER.

BREAD WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I2. 1909.

Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

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yC. METTLER. BREAD WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. I2. 1909.

1,140,522. Patented May 25, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

i T all whom it. may concern BREADWMPBINC-t GH.

Mentaal 'Be it known that I, GASPAR Mamma, of New Haven, Tin A:the county of New Haven and State of-Connecticut, have invented -eertain new and useful Improvements in Bread- Wrappin-g Machines, of which vthe 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for wrapping a sheet of paper about an article and is-especially adapted to machines for wrapping articles such as loaves of bread.

The wrapping operation is eeffected by vbodily -movement'of the loaf in conjunction with a series of successively .operative wipers some of which may be stationary and others of which may -be movable.

-Inl carrying out the invention, i-t has been found to be convenient to lmove the loaf .upwardly from a relatively low position to a' position in a higher planeand tto arrange the wipers b etween the lower and upper planes in position to be engaged by the leaf V in transit.- Fon-this purpose an elevator is provided for moving the loaf with relation to the -wipers and although the accompany ing drawings do not illustrate any automatic means for feeding the loaves, vone ,bfy one, to the elevator, it is .proposedto..u.lt1'

"mately furnish means for so feeding the loaves.

For the purpose may be assumed that the loaves are placed upon .the elevator in any .convenient may whether automatically or -Inafnufallyf Thel machine herein illustrated is. pro' videdv with means for supporting ythe sheet `between the' loaf in Iits lower position4 and the wiping devices. The loaf i-n advancing toward the wiping devices engages thesheet and carri-es vit tow-ard the wiping devices and continued upwardmevement off'theleaf tesults in folding the sheet'against the'perpendii-ularl surf-ace ofthe leaf. 'itis immaterial SOI-ifaifas -the present inventiolli1v isleymeer'rned whether the sheets are fed automatically'ol' manually "to the positioninl whichj are* enga-'ged by. the loaf.

` 'divided'int'o two sets, namely, -prfelilfniP 'pers andnalwipers. The' elevator ich' the loaf fisiirst moved is provided for moving `loafl into engagement with the' preliminarywipiers. l vThe elevator, -cofnpletirigi'itsv active strokepfretnrns jtey re-V ,ceive another'- loaf,l leaving the ,elevated loaf E Specincatipn of Letterafatent.

of .present description, it

may be aad that keeping-assess patented May l25, reis..l

12,1900.. s erialnmmsa in-engagement with the preliminary wipers.

is 'engaged bythe nal wipers, remain sta.-

tionary for a brief period while one of the final wipingdevices operates -upon the sheet. This .final wiping device moves under the loaf in its elevatedpositionand receives the loaf when the :supplemental lifting devices descend. l

IThe machine is provided with a platform to whihlthefvwrapped loaves are delivered. The wifplng device which receives the loaf from the supplemental' lifting devices sup' ports the loa-f in. the plane of the delivery platform; and the sheet, when the loaf is in this position, has a, single 'ta-b which, when folded, completes the wrapping of the sheet. 'A pusher is provided for transferring the loaf. from its support to the platform and the final tab .of 'the sheet is folded by engaggthe lend 0f the xdelivery platform with a wlplng action..

It is proposed rtenltimately provide means for applying asmall lquantity of paste npon equipped with pasting means ofthis kind bnt said means is purposely omitted from the drawlngs in' order to avoid confusion in.

illustrating :the wrapping mechanism. U y

'Referring nowy to the drawmgs' which f illustrate one form in which they invention w l may bev embodiedg-e-Figure 1. represents a;

,side elevation vof y abrea'dwrapping ma-i chii. Fig-2 represents an elevation of the feed" end lof thefmachine. Figi 3 represents an'elevation with' some parts rinf'se'ction'ofe' thedelivery end ofv .the machine. YFi'g..4rx

section of themachineonja planejimmedi-w ately below the delivery'platformlz Ylili-0f.- .d represents `an elevation withkpartsfvbrozl representsla top plan-view of"'th'fe-deliveryjA platform. Fig.' -5 "represents `a horizontal.

` formed by the preliminary wipingdevices.

Fig. 13 represents the next succeeding stage of the wrapping operation which is e'ected bythe'supplemental lifting devices which transfer the loaf from the preliminary to the final wipers. Fig. 14 represents a perspective view showing the succeeding folding operation. Fig. 15 represents a completely wrapped loaf.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur. r

Referring first to Fig. 1, the frame of the machine is-indicated at 16 and is provided with a bed 17 upon which the several wip- .jing devices are mounted. The frame' is pro- 31 mounted in the frame 416. A counterweight 32 1s attached to one end of a cord.

videdwith a vertical guide 18 upon which a sliding block 19 is mounted,;said block being provided with a carrying member 2O hereinafter-termed an elevator. In the position shown by Fig. 1, the elevator is at its lowest extreme, where the4 articles to be wrapped are placed upon its upper surface. A delivery platform 21 is mounted uponthe bed 17 above the wiping devices hereinafter described and the elevator 20 after receiving the loaf is raised for the purpose of moving the loaf into coperative relation -with the wiping devices from which the laf is transferred to the delivery platform 21.

The elevator is actuated by a lever 22 which has a longitudinal slot 23 and which embraces a 'fulcrum 24.. Motion is imparted to the lever. by a pitman 25 of which one end is connected to a crank' 26. The crank is affixed to a crank shaftl 27 mounted in a bearing in the frame 16 and provided with a gear 28. The gear is here shown as driven by a pinion 29. The pinion is here Shown as affixed to a pulley 30 mounted upon a stud 33 o f which the other end passes over idle pulleys 34 and is attached to the slidev19A to relieve the lever 22 of the greater part of the weight of the elevator. l

A eedtable is indicated at. 35 for supporting a pile of sheets which lare tobe wrapped around the loaves. The feed vtable is provided with a central longitudinal rib 36 by which the pile of sheets is arched vfor the purpose of giving'the sheets the necessary rigidity to facilitate edgewise movement thereof.

37 represents a stationary holder which may is adapted to support a sheet in the patn of the elevator. The sheets may be fed from the table 35 to the holder 37 through an opening. 38 in the end of the bed 17. (See Fig. 2). The holder 37 is formed with an opening 39 through which the elevator 20 ass.

Above the bed 17, the machine is provided with various forms of wiping devices by. which the sheet is folded about the loaf When the loaf is `moved with relation to said devices. The devices are arranged in pairs of which the pair \which first engages the loaf is indicated at 40. The wipers 40 may -be composed of any flexible material such 'as leather and are attached to rockshaft 41,

mounted in stationary bearings upon the bed.

vAs shown by Fig. 1, the roclgshafts are provided with weights 42 by which their normal positions are determined. The

. wipers40 are intended to fold the sheet over the longitudinal horizontal edges of the topV of the loaf.

The next wipers in order of operations are indicated at 43. These wipers are prefa erably formed of sheets of thin metal and they are arranged to fold the sheet against the ends of the loaf. The wipers 43 are mounted upon horizontal pivots 44 (Fig. 2) and their weight is so distributed vwith relation to their pivots that they normally occupy horizontal positions as shown by Figs.

l1and2.

The next wipers in the order of operations are indicated at 45. These wipers are stationary and are preferably composed of brush bristles. Their eiiect isjto wipe the Ksheet against the longitudinal sides of the loaf and to. remove wrinkles from thesheet and draw it tightly over the top and sides of the loaf.

Thel next wipers in the order of operations are indicated at 46. These-wi ers are preferably composed jof wire brist es and they are mounted in holders .or bases 47 and aiiixed upon a rockshaft 48. The'rockshaft 48 is provided with an ofset 49 in the form of a crank and the oi'set portion is provided with a roll 50 which initially lies in the path of 'the loaf. For the purpose of de-` terminn the initial positionof the wipers 46, the s aft 48 is provided with `a weight 51 which tends to turn the shaft and to move a linger 52 into engagement with a stopl pin 53. (See Figs; 1 and '2.) The loaf, afterv engaging the wipers 45 engages the roll 50 and imparts oscillation to Vthe rockshaft 48. The wipers 46 are arranged across the ends of the loaf and toffold the so as to move.

projecting portions of the sheet against the ends. A similar pair of wiping devices is indlcated at 54. The wipers 54 are also preferably composed of wire bristles and are mounted 1n a similar manner upon a inattesa likewise provided with a weight indicated Y at 58 and with a finger 59 which is adapted .to engage a stop pin 60. The rockshafts 48 and 55 are both mounted' in stationary bearings but the shaft 55 is in a higher planev than the shaft 48 and is therefore adapted tb be operated subsequently to the shaft 48.

Fig. 8 represents the roll 50 in the position to which it is moved by the loaf 'and the wipers 46 are at the inner extreme of their folding stroke. The roll 57 on the other hand is in process of being displaced andthe wipers 54 are in process of folding a portion of the sheet over the wipers 46. It willl be noticed that the wipers 43 after being tilted to upright position by the loaf remain in engagement with the sheet and that those portions of the sheet which are subsequently folded by the wipers 46 are folded upon the outer surfaces of the wipers 43. The wipers 43 are, however, so thin as to be no detriment to the subsequent foldingv operations, and those portions of the sheet which are folded over these wipers are free to slide from them as the loaf continues to r1se.

-Referring now to Fig. 10, a sheet of paper is indicated at m and is folded over the top, the longitudinal sides and the ends of a loaf. This condition of the sheet is the result of the operations performed by the wipers 40 which fold the sheet against the sides, the wipers 43 which fold the sheet against the ends, and the brush wipers 45 the ends of the loaf, remain in operative enwhich supplement the wipers 40 in smoothing the sheet Aupon the top and sides. The wipers 43,', after folding the sheet against gagement during` the subsequent operations of the brush wipers 46 which fold the sheet over one side against the ends as indicated' by` Fig. 11. After the operation of the .wipers 46, thewipers 54 operate in turn to fold the'sheet from the other side of the end folds previously made leaving the sheet in the position shown by Fig. 1'2. The wipers 43 meanwhile remain confined by the corner folds but as the loaf continues to rise, the 'wipers 43 are free to pull out through the bottomof the folds.

'The upward limit of the elevator 20 is shown by Fig. 9 in which' position the loaf is lengaged by stationary brush wipers 61 and additional wipersg62.v Thewipers- 62 are composed preferably of flexible material such as leather but it is. desirable that these wipers have suicient. tenacity to support4 the loaf when the"v elevator descends. The

wipers 62 are of. the shape shown best by Fig` 5 and vthey are adapted to engage the .The brush wipers 61, however, are open between the ends for the purpose of providing freeaction of the wipers 62. The outer extremities of the brush wipers extend beyond the ends of the loaf and they are therefore adapted to confine the portions of the sheet which are lfolded over the corners of the lloaf and against the ends. The loaf, when engaged by the wipers 61 and 62, is tem` porarily supported while the elevator descends to receive another loaf.

From this position the loaf is raised by supplemental lifting devices 63 which elevate the loaf tothe horizontal plane of the delivery platform 21. The supplemental de-r vices are of angular form as shown by-Figs.

3 and 6, and are arranged and operated to"- engage the adjoining portions of the ends and bottom of the loaf. These devices are mounted upon swinging arms 64 by means of pivots 65 and the arms'are provided lwith stops 66 which limit the tilting motion of the. devices 63. The devices 63 are given one form of a four-way motion. They are first moved toward each other, then raised in unison, thenl moved away from each other and dropped in unison to the position from which they againl move toward each other.

The mechanism for imparting the four-way l Imotion is hereinafter explained.

When a loaf is supported by the wipers 61` and 62, the lifting devices 63 move from the position shown by Fig. 3 toward each other to grasp the'loaf. In grasping the loaf,

. the upper ends of the devices 63 rst engage the ends of the loaf, and as the arms 64 continue toswing inwardly the devices 63 are tilted upon their ypivots 65 so that their lo'werv endsl swing inwardly and upwardly into pontact with the bottom of the loaf. In so moving, the bottom plates fold the ends of the wrapper toward each other, and against the bottom of the loaf, as shown by Fig. 13. When the lifting devices have completed their movement toward each other, they are elevated in unison and therel tion, the iinal tab w', Fig. 14 extends down' wardly between the adjacent edges of the Ywiper 67 and the delivery platform 21. The

final movement imparted to the loaf is imy parted by a pusher. 68 which-moves in the direction of the arrow-in Figs.- 8 and 9. This action of thepusher serves to transfer the leaf from the supporting wiper 67 to the delivery platform, and the final tab 1s t ereby moved into engagement with the e ge of the delivery platform. As. the loaf continues to advance, the tab is wiped over the edge of the platform and finally laid lagainst the corresponding tab folded over the opposite edge of the loaf and the sheet is then completely wrapped as indicated by Fig.15." While the loaf is supported upon the wiper '67, and while the final t/ab m projects downwardly as shown by Fig. 14, a supply of paste may be applied to the inner surface of the tab Aeither manually or automatically, as desired, so that when the final tab is folded, .the-previously folded portions of the sheet will .be confined thereby.

The mechanism for actuating the lifting devices63, the wiper 67 and the pusher 68 v motive power from the crank shaft 27. e -l The arms 64 which support the lifting devices 63 are carried by rockshafts 7 O, which are mounted in bearings 71 formed upon a vertically movable carriage 72. The carriage is mounted to slide upon guide rods 73 and 74 and is alternately raisedand lowered by a pitman 75 whose lower end is connected t' the lever 22. The upper'end of the pitliian is formed with a longitudinal slot 76 which is occupied by a stud77 carried by the carriage 72. The upper end of the pitman is yalso provided with a projection 78 which is adapted toengage the under side of an abutment 7 9 upon 'the carriage 7 2. `When the pitman 75 is raised, the projection 78 engages the abutment 79 and raises the c arvnage 72.

' Fig. 7 illustrates a friction device by which the carriage 72 is connected to the guide rod 73. Said devices comprise'spring followers 74x inserted in a portion of the carriage `72 wherethey are `adapted to engage the rod 73 with yielding tension. They are preferably provided with adjusting screws by which the degree of tension may be varied.l The pitman 75 after reaching the upper extreme of its-movement, immediately descends but the carriage 72 riains at its u per position temporarily n by reason of the ictional engagernent of the followers 74c with the guide rod 73. When, however, the pitman 75 has 'descended so far as to engage the upper side of' the's'tud'77, thecarriage 72 is posi-l tively depressed. The purpose of providing a slhort dwell of the carriage 72 at its upper position is to support the loaf above the plane of the Wiper 67 while the latter is bemg' projected to lloaf-supporting position. The 'same motion of the itman 75 isi employed for moving the lifting devices 63 toward and from each other and is effected throu h the medium of levers 80 which ex- A tend t Augh apertures 81 the upper end of the pitman. The levers 8O are pivoted at 82 (see Fig. 6), and the pivots are carried by the carriage 72. The outer ends of the levers 80 are connected to arms 83 by means of links 84. 'lhea'rmsI 83 are aiixed upon the rockshafts which carry the lifting devices 63. vThe relative movement of the pitman occasioned by the slot 76, moves the levers irst in one direction and then -in the other direction and thereby moves the lifting devices 63 toward and from each other in the appropriate order to complete the fourway movement hereinbefore mentioned.

One side edge of the wiper 67 has a hinged connection with a supporting rod 86, which extends parallel to the delivery table 21. The Wiper is adapted to slide with relation to its sup orting rod 86 and is otherwise' supported y a roll 85. The wiper is aixed at one end of a rod 88 of which the other end is pivotally connected to a lever 89. The lever is mounted upon a fulcrum 90 and has an arm 91 which lies in the path of rotation of the crank 26. The crank vis rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 9 and by engagement with the arm 91, it projects the wiper 67- into loaf-supporting position. The pusher 68 is aiiixed at one end of a rod 92 of which the other end is pivotally connected to an arm 93. The arm is aflixed upon a rock shaft 94 which is further provided with bell crank arms 95 and 96. The carriage 72 vis formed with a lug .97 which is adapted to engage the arm 95 to rock'the shaft 94 in one direction and to arm 95 with the result -that the pusher is moved in the direction indicated by the ar#A row in Figs. 8 and 9. While the lug is in the act of depressing the arm 95, the arm '96:is rocked into the path of the lug in which position it is adapted to be engaged' and J displaced upon subsequent upward movement of the lug. As a result of upward'movement, the shaft 94 is rocked in theopposite direction and the pusher is returned to its initial position. The return movement of the pusher is employed for returning the wiper 67 to, its initial position and for this reason the wiper is provided .with a'projection 98 which is adapted to b e engaged by a shoulder 99 formed upon a latch 100. The latch is mounted upon the rear end of the pusher by means of a pivot 101.` And thefree end of the latch is formed'with a beveled face '102 which is fr om the foregoing explanation that the wiper 67 isjadvaneedprior to thepusher 68.

A'lnhe pusher upon being advancedmoves far 1 d lmettais shown/by Figs. 2 and 6. A supporting rod 104 similar -to the rod 86 is provided lfor supporting one side edge ofthe pusher which has hinged connection therewith. The hinged member is adapted to slide upon the rod and the other side of the pusher is otherwise supported by bearing upon the upper surface .of the Wiper 67.

Having thus explained the nature of my caid invention and described a Way of making and using the saine, although Without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which Ait mav be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

, 1. In a machine for Wrapping a sheet of paper about an article, means for moving the article, means adapted to fold the Wrapper against the article, and means adapted to be engaged by the foremost face of the article and to be displaced thereby from the path of the article, said displaceable means being connected with said folding means to actuate the latter under the impulse of the moving article to fold the Wrapper against another face of the article.

2.V In a machine for Wrapping a sheet of paper about -an article, the combination 'with an elevator for the article, andw1pers -adapted to be engaged by the article, of

means adapted to be engaged and moved by the foremost face yof the article, and additional wipers connected to said means to be operated thereby.

3. In a-machine for viv/rapping a sheet of vpaper about an article, means for moving the article bodily, Wipers for folding a sheet over edges of the' article transverse to the direction of movement, and folding means operated by the foremost face of Athe article for folding the sheet over edges of the article extending in the direction of movement.

4. In a machine for Wrapping a sheet of paper about an article, means for moving the article, and movable means mounted in different positions longitudinally of the path of movement `of the article and adapted to be actuated successively by-side por-v tions of the moving article `for folding portions of the sheet successively against end` portions of the article.

5. In a machine for Wrappmg a sheet of V paper about an article, pivotally mounted wipers adapted to be operated by movement 4ofthe article to fold a sheet over` transverse edges of the article,land means for folding' and means for moving said previously folded parts of the sheet over sald wipers.

6. In a machine for. Wrapping a sheet o-f paper about .an article, pivotally mounted Wipers adapted to be enga ed by the foremostv v,face of the article an turned on their pivots to fold a sheet over edges of the article, and mea-ns for folding the sheet over ,said pivotally mounted Wipers.

.the 4article on the elevator and to old a sheet backwardly Vagainst the article, said Wipers 'being alsoadapted to support the article at the lposition to which it is elevated, and means for removing the article from said Wipers.

9. 'In a machine for Wrapping a sheet about an article, an elevator for the article, stationary Wipers adapted to be engaged by the article on the elevator and to first fold the sheet and then support the article and confine the folded sheet at the position vto which the article is elevated, and means for removing the article from said Wipers, said means being also adapted to conne the folded sheet.

10..In a machine for Wrapping a sheet about` an article, means for moving the arti-4 cle bodily, and pivoted weighted Wipers normally intersecting the path of the article and adapted to be displaced by the foremost face of the article.

11. In a machine for Wrapping a sheet.

about an article,.means for moving the article bodily, pivoted weighted Wipers, and

means connected `to said Wipers and normally intersecting the path of` the article for actuating the Wipers, said means being adapted to be displaced by the foremost face of the article, and said Wipers being adapted to fold the sheet toward the article over edges thereof.

12. In a machine for wrapping a sheet about an article, preliminary means for artially Wrapping the sheet, pivoted mem ers for 'engaging the partially Wrapped article, p

bers bodily to cause them to oldthe sheet and lift the article. 13. In a machine for Wrapping a sheet of ivoted mempaper about an article, means operated by y the article for folding a sheet over an edge' l extending in the direction ofv movement of the article, and independent means l1keW1se operated by the article for folding Vthe sheet over another similar. edge, said means and l independent means -bemg adapted to be op-v erated one. after the other whereby the second folded portion of the Wrapper may be folded upon the first folded portlon.

14. In a machine for wrapping a sheet of paper about an article, means for supporting such article and sheet in a partlfy Wrapped condition, means arranged to li such article and sheet from said supportingl means, said lifting means being arranged tofold portions of the sheet against the botof devices for folding a sheet, said sets being adapted to act successively u on the sheet,l

operating mechanism for sai devices, and means adapted to perform an `additional folding operation, to carry the article within the partly wrapped sheet from the first Aarticle in set of folding devices, and to supportthe operative position for the successive set of olding devices.

16. In a machine for wrapping a sheet of v paper about an\artic1e, means for supportmg such article and sheet in a partly wrapped condition, means arranged to lift sucharticle and sheet from said supporting means, and'means arranged above said supporting means to fold the sheet against the bottom of t e article, said lifting means being arranged to fold the sheet against the bottom of the article and support the article in position to be operated upon by said folding means. v

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GASPAR METTLER.

Y ,VVitnessem A. L. FoLsoM, P. W. IEzznm 

